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eTourism: ICT and its role for tourism management

Roberto Pierdicca (Department of Civil, Building and Architectural Engineering, Universita Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Marche, Italy)
Marina Paolanti (Department of Information Engineering, Universita Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Marche, Italy)
Emanuele Frontoni (Department of Information Engineering, Universita Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Marche, Italy)

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology

ISSN: 1757-9880

Article publication date: 11 February 2019

Issue publication date: 8 March 2019

1519

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present innovative information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure specifically designed and optimized for the tourism sector. The case presented, “La Valle del Pensare lungo il corso del Potenza”, has been conceived with the aim of providing a digital infrastructure to ten municipalities in the Marche Region (Italy), nestled among the valley of the Potenza River. This research project is aimed at developing an important communication system that facilitates the tourist routes of mining attractions and specific thematic routes across the territory, promoting historical centers, cultural heritage, green areas and interesting places.

Design/methodology/approach

“La Valle del Pensare” information system has the main feature of being scalable and multi-purpose, as the contents can be managed and conveyed through the website, app mobile, totem touch screen and standard tourist signage. It is integrated and modular and allows to manage multiple information, ensuring an interoperable and multi-channel approach. It is designed for small municipalities in the province of Macerata to connect the territory’s resources and activities through a network.

Findings

This work represents an important communication system, i.e. innovative ICT infrastructure that facilitates the tourist routes of mining attractions and specific thematic routes across the territory. Thanks to the collection of user-generated data, the platform allows monitoring of usage statistics and performances. In this way, the municipalities can infer useful information about user’s preferences and needs. The paper also discusses how “La Valle del Pensare” gives identity to the territory, which is not identified as a simple summation of the Common, but as a recognizable system that intends to implement the level of competitiveness through the creation of a real territorial logo able to identify vocations and specificity of the Valley of the Potenza.

Originality/value

The value of the project lies in the ICT system, able to convey information at different scales, providing the users with updated contents; at the same time, administrations can constantly monitor its performances, being able to infer useful information about tourists’ needs, habits and preferences. The main contributions are the creation of a single cloud-based architecture for the management of multiple multi- media contents, to be exploited in various platforms; the design of a unique content management system used by several small municipalities of a same territory; the monitoring user’s preferences and needs by collecting users’ generated data; and the analysis of meaningful statistics about the tourists, tested and verified in real scenario with real users.

研究目的

本论文旨在介绍针对旅游行业而设计和优化的创新型ICT架构。本论文讨论案例题为“La Valle del Pensare lung oil corso del Potenza”, 主要为马尔凯大区(意大利)的10个直辖市, 位于Potenza河域山谷中, 提供数码基础架构。此研究项目主要是为了构建一条重要通信体系来帮助开发矿场景点的旅游线路和整个地区的特殊专题线路, 以宣传历史中心、文化遗产、绿色区域、和各种景点。

研究设计/方法/途径

“La Valle del Pensare”信息系统具有规模化和多样性的特点, 其系统内容可以通过网站、移动app、图腾触摸屏、和标准旅游标牌等方式进行管理和传播。此系统采用一体化设计、以模块为单位, 这样使得多种信息方便管理, 确保交互链接可操作性和多渠道性。此外, 这个系统还专门为了马尔凯大区的小城市设计, 使得该区域的资源通过网络得到整合链接。

研究结果

本论文介绍了重要通信系统, 即创新型ICT架构, 来帮助开发矿场景点的旅游线路和整个地区的特殊专题线路。 得益于用户生成数据(user-generated data), 该平台还能监控使用情况和效果, 从而使用该系统的城市可以推测出用户偏好和需求等有用数据。本论文还讨论了“La Valle del Pensare”如何标识地区身份代名词, 这个代名词不等同于共和(the Common)的简单总和, 而是一个醒目的系统, 使得其通过树立真正的区域商标而具有竞争力, 在Potenza谷中占有旅行度假的一席之地。

研究原创性/价值

本论文的重大价值在于其ICT系统, 能够在不同领域传播信息, 向用户提供更新信息:与此同时, 管理当局能够实时监控其系统性能以及推测旅游需求、习惯、偏好等有用信息。本论文重要贡献在于:i)搭建单个云平台基础的多媒体内容管理架构, 能够在多个渠道上运行;ii)设计特殊内容管理系统, 服务于同一区域的多个小城市;iii)通过搜集用户生成数据来监控用户偏好和需求;iv)分析有关游客的数据, 使用真实游客数据来实地测试和验证。

Keywords

Citation

Pierdicca, R., Paolanti, M. and Frontoni, E. (2019), "eTourism: ICT and its role for tourism management", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 90-106. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-07-2017-0043

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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